The album opens with downtempo, slow-building "Home Is a Fire" which I found to be to an odd opening song that did little to draw in the listener. From there things pick up though with the catchy, piano-driven "Codes And Keys" which also features some charming violin work. "Doors Unlocked And Open" is an early standout with a quick guitar-driven melody over a drum machine beat in a song about battling feelings of isolation. "Underneath The Sycamore" is a more rollicking song that could easily have been found on one of their earlier albums.
Codes and Keys is a slightly different album from Death Cab with far more piano-driven tracks and greater use of electronic wizadry during post-production over the 11-track disc. It's not so different, however, that fans won't recognize Death Cab's style in the music and the album as a whole still fits well within the boundaries we expect from one of their releases. As far as tone, it's a more buoyant album than their 2008 release and there are even a few tracks that Walla solely composed the music for. Whether or not that is the reason for the lighter feel, I could not say, but the tone of the album is definitely less dark. Not their best work but still better than most other indie releases you'll find in-store this year.
Score: 8.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Doors Unlocked And Open" [sample it below], "Codes And Keys" and "You Are A Tourist"
"Victory Dance" opens the party with mellow beginning to the song that segues to a rock-heavy jam band song whose electric guitar work and exploratory feel will make a really rocking live song. The eponymous "Circuital" has a pop-influenced electric guitar riff to get the track going with James vocals given a more ethereal feel before an acoustic guitar takes over during the bridge in what turns out to be one out to be a beautifully arranged tracked with soaring vocals and guitar work. "The Day Is Coming" has an 80's pop song feel with a melody and Jame's singing sounding like it's from a lost Tears for Fears song. "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)" shows a return to their bluegrass rock roots with a slow, jangly country acoustic guitar melody in an extremely stripped down song. "First Light" returns to the Southern rock the band grew up with although the distortion heavy melody and heavier vocal style are just a few of the more modern touches the band uses to not make the song sound dated in any way.
Circuital doesn't offer a lot of radio-friendly singles but it is an album that grows on you with repeated listens with its subtle touches and clever nuances found throughout the disc. What I was not expecting was the overall tone of the album sounding like the band was performing songs written by Phish for many of the tracks in addition to a return to the Southern rock roots the band came from. The electro rock beats they had become more reliant on during their more recent albums has been dialed back for a greater classic rock/jam band style. It's an interesting turn for the band although I hypothesize that it will alienate some of their younger fans. But the jam band heavy tunes means this will probably be another great set to check out live and it's not too shabby on disc either once you give the music a shot.
Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Circuital" [sample it below] and "The Day Is Coming"
"Don't Trip" starts the 15-track disc with a funky guitar and bass rhythms that slowly gives way to a silky rap on a simple but catchy song. "Left My Baby Home" is one of the sultrier tracks with a harp and synthesizer intro with female vocals in what could be easily mistaken for a Zero 7 song before the well-matched rap begins. "No Man's Land" has a more modern hip-hop skewing with a very smooth and laid back groove to begin the song with auto-tuned vocals and chorus bookending a potent rap about learning his lesson too late in life. "Put It on Me" (featuring Dru) is structured like a more modern rap song with heavy samples and a heavier vocal track. "Other Side" is a very seductive hip-hop songs that has a weirder synthesizer driven melody that still works well together with both the sung and rapped vocals on that track.
Still Standing shows us the Rappin' 4-Tay is more than just still standing when it comes to music albums. He is still very much in high gear with the good number of melodic rap and lite funk jams on this very introspective release. It's an artist still in his prime but he's not trying to appeal to the masses by giving us attractive but generic bubblegum-type tracks instead focusing on his own internal growth and writing rich hip-hop songs that reflect that. It's a very personal album and that's what gives it part of its charm--we get to see the artist bear his soul and it reaches a depth few artists have expressed through rap. Throw that over some well performed, although nothing revolutionary, old school R&B or more modern Funk and Hip-hop-type jams and you have some very interesting tracks on an album that is able to touch you on many different levels.
Score: 8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Left My Baby Home" and "Other Side"
